Industrial complexes for SMEs
Newspaper Title: https://english.ahram.org.eg/
Newspaper Number:
Tuesday - 23 August 2022
Tenders were issued on Tuesday by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) for three new industrial complexes to be built in Upper Egypt in the governorates of Aswan, Assiut, and Qena.
The new complexes are planned to have a total of 1,000 industrial units, with 308 in Aswan on an area of 18 feddans, 272 in Assiut, and 420 in Qena. The complexes will house projects in the fields of the food, engineering, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and leather industries.
According to Mohamed Al-Zallat, chair of the IDA, the new industrial complexes are part of the presidential initiative called “your factory is ready for licensing” which aims at supporting small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and creating job opportunities for young people.
Minister of Trade and Industry Ahmed Samir said in a press statement that most facilities would be granted to small investors and the prices of the units in the complexes had been subsidised by 40 per cent over their actual cost in the governorates of Upper Egypt.
“The initiative falls within the framework of government plans to direct industrial development towards Upper Egypt and the employment of more young people,” Samir said, adding that it would deepen local industry by supporting supply chains, linking the products of the complexes with major industries, and providing real job opportunities for young people.
It would also attract informal-sector projects to enter the formal economy and enjoy benefits provided by the state.
In order to be eligible for the new units, investors must submit a national ID card, Al-Zallat said, adding that prior commercial registration was not required in a step aimed at facilitating investment procedures.
He said that applications should be submitted within the first 15 days of each month starting in September 2022 until the units run out.
Information on the new complexes is available at the headquarters of the IDA and at its branches in different governorates, he said, as well as at branches of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Authority.
Details of the industrial units are available on the authority’s portal www.ida.gov.eg.
Al-Zallat said that investors would be handed fully-constructed industrial units enjoying water and sewage systems, electricity, nearby road networks, and communications. The complexes will also include central firefighting systems, an exhibition space for marketing products, administrative and service buildings, health units, banks, and restaurants and cafeterias.
The units could be either purchased or rented, he said.
Investors are allowed to obtain more than one unit without a maximum limit, and low-interest financing at five per cent is available. “The IDA is ready to support small investors by providing loans to finance the buying of machines and raw materials, in addition to offering marketing services to promote their products,” Al-Zallat said.
“Establishing industrial complexes for small and medium-sized enterprises is a top priority for the Ministry of Trade and Industry,” he said, adding that hundreds of industrial licences had been issued in fewer than 20 days and about 3,000 new factory licences within a year.
The Egyptian Federation of Investors in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises said in a press statement on Monday that obstacles faced by small businesses, whether during the construction phase or during the lifetime of projects, needed to be further addressed in order to study gaps in production chains that could be considered for investment opportunities.
